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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CALCUTTA 000454
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SA/INS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2015
TAGS: PGOVPHUMPINRSOCIINXEPTER
SUBJECT: GOI SEES IMMIGRATION FROM BANGLADESH AS NATIONAL SECURITY
THREAT
CLASSIFIED BY: Rosanna Minchew, Poloff, Pol, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b)
¶1. (U) Classified By: CG Henry V. Jardine for Reasons 1.4 (B,
D)
¶2. (C) Summary: In recent meetings with Poloff, Indian
security services in West Bengal described illegal immigration
from Bangladesh as a serious national security threat. The
three major areas of concern for the officials were the
significant rates of illegal immigration across the border,
reported Bangladeshi support of insurgent groups like the United
Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in Northeast India and the
radicalization of political Islam. Complicating factors are
rampant corruption amongst Border Security Forces (BSF) and
alleged Left Front support for migration to gain Muslim votes.
There is now a substantial Muslim community along the border
which authorities fear may become radicalized as religious
fundamentalism gains more support in Bangladesh. A mushrooming
of madrassas, increased communal violence against Hindus and
fundamentalist intolerance is of particular concern to BSF
authorities, who believe radical elements are using the
madrassas to recruit young men. Muslim activists recognize that
the population is vulnerable to radicalization, noting that it
is an economically deprived, educationally backward and socially
handicapped community. However, they maintain that the
community is non-violent and that the government of West Bengal
has failed to provide them a basic education. Indian security
officials are frustrated by the deterioration of security in
Bangladesh and the consequences for West Bengal, which
politicians are unwilling to debate publicly for fear of
alienating Muslim voters. Authorities spoke candidly with U.S.
officials on the issue and, to some extent, shared their
intelligence on the threat from Bangladesh. Indian authorities
and the impoverished Muslim community would welcome increased
USG attention to humanitarian conditions and radical elements in
Bangladesh to help prevent fundamentalism from gaining a
stronghold in India. End Summary.
A Uniquely Porous Border
---------------------------
¶3. (SBU) Representatives of Indian security forces Dilip
Mitra, Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, Pradeep
Chattopadhyah, Deputy Commissioner of Police and B. B. Nandi,
retired Deputy Director of the Research and Analysis Wing
candidly related to Poloff their concern that criminal and
radical Islamic elements are taking advantage of the porous land
border between West Bengal and Bangladesh to infiltrate into
India. In addition, a border distinction at the local level is
artificial because communities on both sides share historical,
cultural and linguistic ties. Further, BSF guards are
notoriously corrupt and often accept bribes from immigrants
crossing the border illegally. The opposition also accuses the
Left Front of giving immigrants instant citizenship and voting
rights to maintain and gain support within the Muslim community.
Additional BSF forces have been deployed in response to the
numbers of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants coming to India and a
security fence, currently 60% complete, is under construction.
Mitra said that an increased number of BSF guards and the
security fence were not having a measurable impact on criminals
trafficking in drugs, people and weapons.
Concern: Radical Islamic Elements Infiltrating
--------------------------------------------- -
¶4. (C) The Indian officials believe radical Islamic elements
in Bangladesh enjoy a degree of protection from the government.
The authorities are concerned that these elements have a
strategic, long-term plan to take advantage of the porous border
to infiltrate India and provide support to insurgent groups.
Mitra said the police had information from unnamed sources that
weapons for use by ULFA were brought in through the
Bangladesh/India border. Once inside India, radicals are able
to gain influence in border communities, provide support to
insurgent movements and use West Bengal as a launching pad to
move within India or to travel internationally. The three
terrorist organizations of primary interest to Indian
authorities monitoring the border are Jamat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM),
Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB) and Harkat-ul-Jehadi
Islami (HUJI). The contacts said, without identifying the
groups, that terrorist organizations previously based in
Afghanistan have moved their operations to Bangladesh where
there is less international focus on the fundamentalist Islamic
community. They believe three events prompted these unspecified
Afghanistan-based groups to move to Bangladesh; the events of
September 11, 2001, the more conservative government gaining
power in Bangladesh in early 2002 and U.S action in Afghanistan.
Chattopadhyah shared with Poloff the classified text of a
report on terrorism in Bangladesh to demonstrate the sincerity
of claims that Afghani-based terrorist elements had significant
influence amongst Bangladesh-based groups . The translated
statements of an unnamed extremist leader in Bangladesh were
included in the text and reads as follows: "We shall become
Taliban and Bangladesh will become Afghanistan."
Security Services: Border Community is Becoming Radicalized
--------------------------------------------- ------------------
¶5. (C) Since 2001, Indian authorities have seen changes in the
community near the border suggesting that radical Islamic
elements enjoy increasing influence in the area. For example,
authorities noted what they describe as a "mushrooming" of
madrassas on both the Indian and Bangladeshi side of the border.
The majority of these madrassas are not government regulated
and they believe the schools are predominantly being used as
recruitment facilities. When asked how the madrassas were being
funded, Mitra speculated that the Bangladeshi intelligence
apparatus, under the influence of the Pakistani Inter-Services
Intelligence Directorate was providing funding from
petro-dollars and narco funds, although he had no concrete
evidence. When pressed for further details, Mitra said a group
calling itself the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIH) was also
providing funding but did not elaborate on the source of his
information. Mitra claimed to know that, on the Bangladeshi
side of the border, young men were being cloistered in mosques
and madrassas during the day and conducting training activities
at night. Authorities have noted an increased number of
training camps in Bangladesh. On the Indian side of the border,
there has been an escalation of violence against Hindus and
fatwas threatening moderate voices. Authorities reported an
increase in rape cases of Hindu women by Muslim men which they
believe is part of the long term strategy by radical Islamists
to gain influence and numbers on the Indian side of the border.
Mitra went as far as to say he believed the de facto border was
approximately 5-10km inside of India.
¶6. (C) Nandi and Mitra gave examples of fatwas issued by local
mullahs designed to intimidate moderates and prevent authorities
from recording an accurate number of Muslims in the communities.
Nandi told the story of a school teacher he knew in a border
community who had asked for his advice and protection. The
teacher was a well known moderate and a fatwa had been issued
offering a reward for his murder. Mitra said that he had been
asked by his superiors to travel to the border area for a
first-hand account of the social climate. He had noticed a
disproportionate number of Hindu women to Muslim men. He
approached one of the women to ask about the imbalance and
learned that the woman was, in fact, a Muslim. She said she was
obeying a fatwa ordering Muslim women to dress and adorn
themselves as Hindus. Mitra believed this was an effort by a
growing radical Islamic element to camouflage itself in the
community and to avoid detection.
¶7. (C) Authorities are also concerned that militants could
easily obtain Indian passports and disappear inside the country
or use India as a launching pad for international travel.
Bangladeshis can easily get fraudulent identification with the
help of strong cultural ties and corrupt officials. Indian
authorities actively look for illegal immigrants to prosecute or
return to Bangladesh. In the case of one investigation, the
police were led to Mumbai where they apprehended a man and
confiscated four Indian passports.
Muslim Community: Border Area Particularly Poor and Ignored by
GOI
--------------------------------------------- --------------
----------------
¶8. (SBU) Muslim leaders in West Bengal, including Sultan
Ahmed, ex-MLA, Mooruddin Ahmed, Founder Scretary of the
Minority Educational Development Program, Suleman Khurshi and
Muazzam Hossain also spoke candidly with Poloff about the social
and political temperature of Muslim communities in the border
areas. They acknowledged growing numbers of madrassas but,
unlike security services, believed they did not house radical
elements. They said faculty at the madrassas were generally not
well educated but did provide a service that the government has
been unable or unwilling to do. When asked how the madrassas
were being funded, they replied that contributions were
solicited from the local community. Interestingly, while Muslim
community leaders do not believe that radical elements have
taken over the border area, they do believe the community is
vulnerable to political exploitation and radicalization due to
extreme poverty and hopelessness. Leaders voiced their concern
that despite GOWB communist rhetoric of egalitarianism, the
Muslims in the community continued to be treated like
second-class citizens. They said they would consider mobilizing
behind an opposition party that was able to address their
concerns and improve the lot of impoverished Muslims. They also
encouraged more American outreach in education and healthcare.
Political Ramifications
----------------------
¶9. (U) The deteriorating political climate in Bangladesh and
the alarming number of illegal immigrants crossing the border
are politically sensitive issues. The Left Front depends on the
Muslim vote to retain power and is unwilling to alienate Muslims
in the area by more strictly enforcing border control. On the
other hand, the government has been unable to provide basic
services to the community and improve their poverty stricken
lives. While the Chief Minister has publicly voiced concern
about illegal immigration, the government of West Bengal has no
concrete solution to the problem. Further, the LF shifts blame
for lack of effective border control to the central government,
using the issue as leverage against the UPA at the center.
Local opposition parties allege that the Left encourages illegal
immigration to bolster its support base by offering immediate
citizenship to immigrants, further complicating efforts to stem
immigration and return illegal immigrants to Bangladesh. Elite
Muslims in Calcutta believe that the Left has been unable to
improve their lot and would be willing to break with the party
if a strong opposition emerged. However, it is unclear how
Muslim communities along the border would react to the emergence
of a strong opposition.
Comment
----------
¶10. (C) There is a lack of political will to tighten India's
border with Bangladesh, especially with West Bengal state
elections coming in May 2006, and immigrants continue to flow
across the border. There are indications that some immigrants
bring with them the radical Islamic views taking a foothold in
Bangladesh. Communal violence is increasing and fundamentalists
are gaining influence as the demographics in border communities
shift. Indian security services worry about what they consider
to be a strategic, long-term plan by radical Islamists to
infiltrate India and to provide support to various insurgent
groups in India like the ULFA. They note a mushrooming of
unsanctioned madrassas and an immigrant's ability to disappear
inside India with easily obtained false identification. There
is consensus that the Muslim community is discriminated against
and impoverished. The government of West Bengal has not
provided adequately for this marginalized community but
continues to have their support and is unwilling to enforce
border controls. As a result, illegal immigration continues and
fundamentalists gain influence in the area.
JARDINE